Am I too old to learn how to rock?

[anonymous]

Do you think that a 54 year old woman can actually learn to rock the piano? ( I do rock just fine when I listen to music) or am I kidding myself?

Topic

If a 56 year man can learn than a 54 year old woman can also! I started IROCKU because I wanted to take up the piano after not touching a keyboard for 30 years. On my bucket list is to ‘play like Chuck Leavell’. Now that I realize what an extraordinary genius he is I might need to adjust my expectations but I’m now playing at a level I never imagined. And loving it! I’m learning and growing every day and just started playing in a band for the first time.

We have thousands of members over 40 who took up the piano again after probably 1-3 years of lessons as a kid. Here are some of the things we’re hearing from them about learning (or relearning) how to play rock:

1) You must learn to unlearn. Rock rhythms are very difficult. We are all wired with the rhythms we learned at an early age. If you learned classical piano then the rock syncopations won’t come naturally. Listen to them over and over before trying them and then practice them slowly until they become ingrained. Try counting out the right hand ( One-e-and-a-Two-e-and-a-Three-e-and-a-Four-e-and-a) and then the left hand. Without ever touching the piano keys. Then try tapping it out on your knees. When you can count and tap with both hands at the same time you should give it a try on the piano. Still while counting out loud! As you get more familiar with the rock rhythms this becomes easier and easier.

2) Experiment, Experiment. Experiment. For every hour you spend learning and reading spend an hour just exploring and having fun on the keyboard. Chuck warms up every day playing Hanon ( in every key!) and then picks a song and improvises with it and takes it wherever it may go.

3) Play with others. It’s a big hurdle to overcome for many who practice alone but is an important step to really finding yourself on the keyboard. And a ton of fun once you overcome the initial fear.

Please let us know what you have learned about learning rock…

I just started irocku a week ago or so and have already seen some progress..more than I thought was possible… I’ve got a long way to go to come close to Chuck….. but I am a better and happier me now, and that’s good enough for me. Piano was also on my bucket list, and, as a stage IV cancer survivor, music (and particularly Chucks music) was what helped me through treatments. Its never too late, right?

to gspring: we are so happy you found us and that we found you! Pianist and rocker Andrew McMahon is an Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia survivor and he created the The Dear Jack Foundation to help kids diagnosed with cancer. IROCKU donates the proceeds of our lessons for Andrew’s song “Dark Blue” to his foundation. “Dark Blue” is a beautiful piano song and it’s beautiful knowing that by playing it we are helping kids with cancer. God bless..

The Dear Jack Foundation
“Dark Blue”